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The Great Trials Podcast offers a series of laid-back, casual conversations with leading trial lawyers, taking listeners "behind the scenes" of America’s greatest trials. Hosted by acclaimed trial lawyers Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey, each podcast episode focuses on one important trial and includes in-depth, insightful interviews with the attorneys who successfully argued the case in front of a judge and jury.
Episodes
Tuesday Oct 10, 2023
Tuesday Oct 10, 2023
This week, we’re replaying a classic episode where Steve and Yvonne interview Gary Fox of Stewart Tilghman Fox Bianchi & Cain, P.A ( https://www.stfblaw.com).
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Case Details:
Inner Circle of Advocates attorney Gary Fox shares how a medical malpractice case was mistried twice before resulting in Leon County, Florida’s first verdict in 17 years in favor of a patient against a physician. Premature baby Levi Slayton was taken to the doctor a few days after birth for breathing difficulties and rising bilirubin levels, which can indicate elevated red blood cell destruction and a possible infection. The doctor was negligent and failed to admit the baby to the hospital to monitor his bilirubin levels in an environment that could respond quickly. Returning home, the baby stopped breathing while being breastfed and suffered such significant brain damage from a lack of oxygen that life-support was not recommended. Levi only lived for six days. The jury assigned 100% responsibility for the baby’s death to the doctor, returning a verdict of $3,373,000.
Guest Bio:
Gary Fox
For the past 39 years, Gary Fox has devoted his practice exclusively to the trial of civil cases in Florida. He specializes in the trial of medical malpractice, products liability and wrongful death cases.
Gary graduated from the University of Florida School of Law in 1976, where he was an editor of the law review and member of the National Moot Court Board. After graduation, he went to work for the firm known as Frates Floyd Pearson Stewart Richman & Greer. He became a partner at the firm and in 1984 left to open his own firm with Larry Stewart, Jim Tilghman and David Bianchi, where he has remained since.
Gary is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, the most selective group of trial lawyers in the United States. The Inner Circle is an invitation-only group limited to the top 100 plaintiffs’ trial attorneys in America. Stewart Tilghman Fox Bianchi & Cain is the only law firm in Florida with two members in The Inner Circle.
Gary was selected as the Trial Lawyer of the Year by the American Board of Trial Advocates, Florida Chapters, an organization also known as FLABOTA. The American Board of Trial Advocates is an invitation-only group of trial lawyers evenly divided between attorneys who represent plaintiffs and those who represent insurance companies, manufacturers, health care providers, and other defendants.
Seven years after graduation, he became board certified as a civil trial lawyer by the Florida Bar and the following year he was certified in the same specialty by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.
Gary was elected President of the Miami Chapter of ABOTA in 1992 and was elected President of the statewide ABOTA organization (FLABOTA) in 1990. In 2004 he was selected for inclusion in the International Society of Barristers, another invitation-only group of trial lawyers that is limited to 600 members worldwide.
Gary represented Terri and Michael Schiavo in the medical malpractice trial arising out of the events that led to Terri’s coma. The jury returned a substantial verdict for Terri and Michael and the proceeds of that recovery led to the rift between Michael and Terri’s family and international publicity that followed. In addition, Gary has represented boxing champion Floyd Mayweather, Hall of Fame baseball player Eddie Mathews and All-Pro NFL cornerback Samari Rolle.
Gary and Stephen Cain tried to verdict Mr. Rolle’s case in Charlotte, North Carolina. The jury returned a verdict in Mr. Rolle’s favor. It was the first time in 12 years a jury in Charlotte had returned a verdict for a patient in a medical malpractice case. Gary also represented Jane Doe, a rape victim, in the case against Carnival Cruise Lines that became the subject of national publicity when Carnival was required by court order to disclose the data surrounding the number of sexual assaults occurring aboard its ships.
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Tuesday Sep 26, 2023
Tuesday Sep 26, 2023
This week, we're replaying a classic episode where Steve and Yvonne interview Lloyd Bell of the Bell Law Firm (https://www.belllawfirm.com/).
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Case Details:
Medical malpractice attorney Lloyd Bell of Bell Law Firm explains how he led two weeks of trial and obtained a record-breaking jury verdict for a woman who suffered severe complications following neck surgery. Due to the negligence of the hospital’s ICU doctor in responding to the patient’s restricted airway, she entered into a three-week-long coma and awoke blind and brain-damaged due to a lack of oxygen.
Guest Bio:
Lloyd Bell
With over 25 years of legal experience, Lloyd Bell has built a sterling courtroom record and recovered millions of dollars for medical malpractice victims. A veteran of the U.S. Army JAG Corps, Bell founded his own law firm in 1999 and is consistently recognized as one of the top attorneys in his field. In 2018, Bell Law Firm was recognized as Personal Injury Litigation Team of the Year by Daily Report, the leading source of legal news in Atlanta. Lloyd Bell has been included in Atlanta Magazine’s prestigious Super Lawyers list every year since 2005, and more recently the Super Lawyers “Top 100 Lawyers in Georgia” list in 2018. Bell has also been named as one of the few personal injury lawyers in Georgia on the prestigious list of “Legal Elite” by Georgia Trend Magazine, an honor he has received every year since 2015.
His firm differentiates itself with deep legal expertise, a mastery of technology in the courtroom, and compelling storytelling. Over the past five years, Bell won more seven- and eight-figure verdicts for his clients in medical malpractice cases than any other attorney in the state of Georgia, including a $15 million verdict against a large Atlanta hospital group in 2016 and a record-breaking $26 million verdict against a Columbus hospital in 2017. Bell is a member of the Melvin M. Belli Society, a group of distinguished trial lawyers dedicated to the principles of education. Bell is also board certified by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys in the field of medical malpractice.
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Tuesday Sep 12, 2023
Tuesday Sep 12, 2023
This week we're replaying a classic episode where Steve and Yvonne interview Tracey Dellacona of Dellacona Law Firm, LLC (http://www.dellaconalaw.com/).
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Episode Details:
Georgia trial lawyer and nurse Tracey Dellacona of Dellacona Law Firm, LLC shares how she strategically represented emergency room patient Ellen Wadsworth, whose misdiagnosed pain resulted in the amputation of both of her legs. On Thanksgiving Day in 2008, Ellen arrived at the hospital with severe pain in both of her legs and cold feet, which a physician's assistant -- after only a brief physical exam and vein testing -- determined to be cellulitis, a type of bacterial skin infection. Despite Ellen's inability to walk and pleas to be admitted to the hospital, the supervising doctor and physician's assistant sent her home with morphine. Hours later, Ellen returned to the emergency room after collapsing in her home, and it was discovered that she had arterial blockages in both of her lower legs. On December 4, 2008, Ellen underwent a double leg amputation below the knee. The defendants argued that Ellen's symptoms and physical conditions were entirely different at each emergency room visit and tried to place blame on Ellen's smoking and pre-existing medical conditions. In 2012, a Gwinnett County, Georgia jury found in favor of Ellen, awarding her $5 million in damages and charging the attending healthcare professionals and medical practice with ordinary negligence.
Guest Bio:
Tracey Dellacona
Ms. Dellacona graduated cum laude in 1985 from the University of Southern Mississippi with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing and worked as an emergency department nurse and cardiac care nurse for several years in North Carolina before moving to Georgia to attend law school. She maintains a current Georgia license as a registered nurse. Ms. Dellacona graduated in 1994 from Mercer University Walter F. George School of Law in Macon, Georgia, where she began her own law firm, Dellacona Law Firm.
In 2007, Ms. Dellacona obtained her Master of Business Administration Degree magna cum laude from Wesleyan College. She has served as president of the Middle Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, as an at large Vice-President for the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, and is a member of the Bootle Inn of Court, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, the Middle Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, the State Bar of Georgia, the American Association for Justice, the Professional Negligence Group, Stroke Litigation Group and the Nursing Home Litigation Group. Ms. Dellacona is AV rated (the highest rating in competency and ethics attorneys can receive by their peers) and a selected Super Lawyer for the past 10 years.
Ms. Dellacona has served as a legal consultant on medical issues for Fox News in Macon, Georgia. She is a frequent guest lecturer on medical negligence issues at numerous legal workshops and healthcare facilities around the nation and in the state of Georgia. Ms. Dellacona also conducts peer review analysis on articles submitted to Trial magazine and is a published author in Trial. She has also been an invited guest speaker at the conventions for the national American Association for Justice.
For 27 years, Ms. Dellacona has worked with numerous attorneys all over the state on medical negligence cases as well as other personal injury matters and she has served as an adjunct professor at Mercer Law School. She also supports numerous charities such as the Alzheimer’s Association and Jay’s Hope and is a member of the Women In Unity Group, an organized group of women whose goals are to support voting, vaccinating and other worthwhile projects.
Ms. Dellacona has obtained numerous multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts including a $ 5 million dollar verdict that changed the law in emergency medicine, a $4.3 million dollar verdict for the wrongful death of a 23 week old fetus, a $5.2 million dollar verdict in a spinal injury case, and a $20 million dollar settlement in a wrongful death trucking case.
Representing clients and families who have been injured by the carelessness of others, whether by negligent healthcare providers (hospitals and/or doctors) or negligent drivers or other corporations, is Ms. Dellacona’s passion.
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Tuesday Aug 29, 2023
Tuesday Aug 29, 2023
This week, we're replaying a classic episode where Steve and Yvonne interview Eric Rosen of Rosen Injury Law (https://roseninjurylawyers.com/).
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Episode Details:
Rosen Injury Law founder Eric Rosen explains how he secured justice for the family of Vivian Wilkinson, a lifelong smoker who died from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) caused by her addiction to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company's cigarettes. Building upon the success of the 1994 Engle class action lawsuit comprised of Florida smokers, trial lawyer Eric Rosen successfully took Broward County, Florida jury members on a journey back in time to when smoking was deeply ingrained in American society, helping them see how that environment influenced Vivian's decisions as well as the actions of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Despite the defense's attempts to convince the jury that the timing of Vivian's initial COPD symptoms failed to meet the statute of limitations, the jury found in favor of Vivian's estate, awarding $3 million in compensatory damages to her children, Vivian and Eugene, and $10 million in punitive damages against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company for knowingly concealing information that ultimately contributed to Vivian's death.
Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents
Guest Bio:
Eric Rosen
Eric Rosen is a Fort Lauderdale injury lawyer and founder of Rosen Injury Law, P.A. Mr. Rosen is Board Certified by the Florida Bar as a civil trial specialist, a certification held by less than 2% of all attorneys licensed to practice law in Florida.
Eric devotes his practice to representing plaintiffs who have suffered injury or death as a result of another person’s or corporation’s negligence.
As lead trial attorney, Eric has obtained over $100 million in jury verdicts for his clients in catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases. Eric has also co-chaired and served on trial teams obtaining combined jury verdicts in excess of $300 million. His verdicts have been featured extensively in the Daily Business Review, Courtroom View Network and other media outlets.
Eric began his legal career as a prosecutor at the Office of the State Attorney in Broward County, Florida, where he tried dozens of jury trials and countless bench trials to verdict. Mr. Rosen left public service to pursue his passion for helping people who have suffered due to someone else’s misconduct. Mr. Rosen then rose through the ranks to become a partner at a prominent South Florida personal injury and wrongful death firm. For over a decade, Eric dedicated his practice to catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases. After unparalleled success, Mr. Rosen pursued his dream of opening his own law firm and established Rosen Injury Law, P.A. As a Fort Lauderdale accident lawyer, he expanded his practice to not only include catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases, but to also help those who have suffered a range of injuries that may not be life threatening, but still result in serious pain, inconvenience and loss of enjoyment of life.
In addition to his law school education and his career in both public and private practice, Eric is also a graduate of the renowned Trial Lawyers College established by Gerry Spence; one of the country’s premiere trial schools. This is an intensive three-and-a-half-week trial skills program held in Dubois, Wyoming, by top litigators and trial instructors from around the country. While there, Eric immersed himself in new trial techniques for jury selection, opening statement, direct and cross examination, and closing arguments. He incorporates those skills to this day.
As a Fort Lauderdale injury lawyer, Eric has served on the faculty for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy where he has taught trial skills to lawyers from around the country. He also spends time teaching law students and high school students about personal injury practice, product liability, and trial practice.
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Tuesday Aug 15, 2023
Tuesday Aug 15, 2023
This week Steve and Yvonne interview Matt Cook of Cook Law Group, LLC (https://www.cook-lawgroup.com/) and Ronny Hulsey Smith Hulsey Law (https://smithhulseylaw.com/).
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Guest Bios:
Matthew E. Cook
Matt grew up in Northeast Georgia the son of a single mom. While he and his mother had very little worldly means, they had grit, determination and a commitment to decency and fairness. Matt’s upbringing gave him a healthy respect for hard work and for standing up for the underdog. Matt spent three years working in cotton mills and other manual labor jobs before graduating college and attending law school. After graduating law school, Matt joined a nationally renowned trial lawyer firm where he spent six years as an associate and five years as a partner handling a broad range of complex, catastrophic injury and death cases across the United States ranging from trucking collisions to product liability claims and everything in between. Matt is a frequent speaker at trial lawyer seminars, has published numerous articles and has served as an expert witness in several cases. Matt is an aviation enthusiast and has his private pilot's license. Matt’s unique style, genuine empathy, ability to relate to juries and fearlessness has led to hundreds of millions of dollars of recoveries for clients. Matt has secured more than $225 million for clients in just the past 10 years.
Ronny Hulsey
Early in his career, Ronny defended big insurance companies at large law firms before devoting his practice solely to helping injured people win claims against insurance companies. Ronny focused his legal education in insurance law, graduating second in his class, magna cum laude from Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law, where he was elected to Law Review, inducted into the Brainerd Currie Honor Society, and won the Guerry R. Moore Insurance Law Award. Recruited by Georgia’s top insurance defense firms, Ronny learned what insurance companies fear and what makes them pay fair compensation to injured parties. Recently, Ronny received state-wide recognition for obtaining a $1 million recovery for a high school track coach struck by a truck while jogging with her students. He recovered ten times the available policy limit after the insurer refused to treat his client fairly. More recently, Ronny represented a pedestrian who was killed when a vehicle left its lane on I-985, and recovered over $1.9 million for the victim’s family.
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Tuesday Aug 01, 2023
Tuesday Aug 01, 2023
This week we’re replaying a classic episode where Steve and Yvonne interview Bill Stone of Stone Law Group (https://www.stonelaw.com/).
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Case Details:
Former Georgia Plaintiff’s Lawyer of the Year Bill Stone of Stone Law Group in Atlanta explains how he secured justice for Shannon Trabue, an expectant mother with pre-eclampsia who suffered irreversible brain damage due to medical malpractice. Two Atlanta Women’s Specialists’ doctors failed to regulate Shannon’s blood pressure, despite knowledge that pre-eclampsia patients pose a high risk of blood pressure-induced seizures, and failed to manage her fluid levels. As a result, Shannon suffered cardiopulmonary arrest, resulting in permanent brain damage and physical disabilities due to an extended period of time without oxygen. A Fulton County, Georgia jury delivered a $45.8 million verdict, including $9.8 million in economic loss and $18 million in compensatory damages for Shannon.
Guest Bio:
William 'Bill' Sims Stone
Bill is a trial lawyer from Blakely, Georgia, who specializes in personal injury, wrongful death, professional malpractice, product liability, commercial and consumer fraud cases. The firm’s predecessor was founded in 1915 by Bill’s grandfather, the late Wm. Lowrey Stone. Past members of the firm include Bill’s father, Lowrey S. Stone, who formerly served as Chief Judge of Superior Courts, Pataula Judicial Circuit.
Bill was born in Dothan, Alabama, on August 19, 1953. He attended the public schools in Early County, Georgia and graduated from Early County High School in 1971. He attended the University of Georgia College of Business Administration and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a major in accounting on graduation in 1975. Bill also attended the Netherlands Institute of Industrial Economics near Amsterdam in The Netherlands in 1973.
Bill received his Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1977. He was admitted to practice law in the state of Georgia in 1977 and in the state of Alabama in 1985. He is also member of the bars of the United States District Courts for the Middle and Northern Districts of Georgia, the Middle District of Alabama, and the Central District of Illinois, as well as the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits.
The publishers of the Martindale Hubble Law Directory have awarded Bill its highest rating (AV) for legal ability and integrity.
Bill is a Life Member and past president of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association and is also a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Georgia, the Alabama State Bar, the American Association for Justice, and the Southwest Georgia Trial Lawyers Association.
Bill has served on the Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission that recommends candidates to the Governor for appointment to vacant judgeships in Georgia. He has authored a number of published articles and is a frequent lecturer at legal seminars on the subject of trial practice and tort law.
Bill is a past president of the Blakely Rotary Club, and a member of the First United Methodist Church of Blakely.
Bill has five children, Ryals, also a member of Boone & Stone, Katie, James, John and Andrew.
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Tuesday Jul 18, 2023
Tuesday Jul 18, 2023
This week Steve and Yvonne interview T. Gabe Houston of The Trial Lab (https://thetriallab.com/).
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Case Details:
In June 2013, Thomas Joseph (“Joey”) Soulliere was riding his recently-purchased motorcycle down a public road. Suddenly, a driver in an SUV pulled out of a parking lot directly in front of him. While the situation was dire, Joey certainly had sufficient time to brake so as to avoid the SUV. Unfortunately, Joey’s bike, a 2009 Suzuki GSXR 600, contained a defect within its Front Brake Master Cylinder (a defect which had been known for years by its designer and manufacturer, Suzuki Motor Corporation) which resulted in sudden and complete front brake failure. Having no front brake, Joey violently crashed into the SUV. His injuries included fracture of his right femur, right patella, and left foot. The patella injury was severe, requiring multiple surgeries (including for burst ligaments and infection). Joey also developed orthopedic injuries in his right shoulder and lower back, and continued to have chronic pain in his legs for years. (Source)
Guest Bio:
Gabe Houston
Gabe Houston is the founding member of The Trial Lab Corporation (Formerly Houston Law of California, PC), a law firm devoted to enthusiastically representing aviation-related disputes as well as compassionately helping injured people. In personal injury matters, our job is to help injured people realize their brighter futures. The Trial Lab helps innocent injured victims who have been hurt due to the carelessness of others. Our clients have suffered a catastrophic personal injury, typically by defective products, dangerous properties, or other negligent people, or have been injured on an airline or by a doctor or hospital. The Trial Lab also represents clients in cases involving Qui Tam/Whistleblower matters. T. Gabe Houston has complex trial, arbitration, mediation, and negotiation experience. The Trial Lab and its trial attorneys have successfully tried and arbitrated multiple complex cases to verdicts in the areas of aviation litigation, product liability actions, personal injury, medical malpractice, and as well as defending wrongly charged or accused criminal defendants. The Trial Lab has also represented pilots against regulatory agencies such as the FAA and NTSB as well as representing clients in securities and commodities regulatory and administrative litigation.
Gabe Houston and Caroline Blanco originally founded the law firm Houston and Blanco in 2008. Gabe and Caroline married, and Caroline left the practice of law to be the bedrock of a growing household. Gabe continued the practice as Houston Law of California. In 2012 Gabe suspended the solo practice when he was recruited to join a prominent medical malpractice firm where he used his trial knowledge and litigation experience to represent innocent victims of medical malpractice in suits against negligent physicians and health care providers. In 2018, Gabe returned to solo practice to stay focused on helping injured victims of catastrophic personal injury, defective products, dangerous premises, and airline injuries. Gabe is a long-time member of the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) and the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association (OCTLA). Gabe was a long-time member of the Board of Directors of OCTLA and was on the Executive Committee, where he served as Parliamentarian through First Vice President before pivoting to bi-coastal trial practice.
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Tuesday Jun 20, 2023
Tuesday Jun 20, 2023
This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Michael A. Kelly of Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger (https://www.walkuplawoffice.com)
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Episode Details:
Accomplished California personal injury lawyer Michael A. Kelly, a shareholder at Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger and recent Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame inductee, shares how he secured justice for the first of thousands of victims of a defectively designed medical device. On December 5, 2007, U.S. Air Force veteran Loren "Bill" Kransky underwent hip surgery in Montana, receiving a DePuy ASR Acetabular Hip System orthopedic implant. DePuy, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, first put the ASR Acetabular Hip System on the market in Europe in 2004, and soon after began receiving notifications from prominent surgeons that the device was flawed. Despite receiving these notifications, DePuy continued to market the metal implant as a low-wear product that required only one surgery and failed to report product issues to American doctors. On August 4, 2010, a recall was issued and the Depuy ASR Acetabular Hip System was labeled as defective, but the damage was already done for millions of patients, including Loren. Following the recall, Loren underwent revision surgery to have the implant removed because it was shedding metal debris into the tissue of his hip and bloodstream. In March 2013, a Los Angeles jury returned a verdict in favor of Loren, awarding $8,338,136.12 in damages for the pain caused by the defective design and ultimately helping to facilitate a $2.5 billion national settlement for all victims.
Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents
Guest Bio:
Michael A. Kelly
Mike Kelly is one of the nation’s top personal injury attorneys. For four decades he has protected consumers from corporate greed, medical mistakes, dangerous household products, unsafe medical devices, and motor vehicle accidents of every kind. He has tried, settled, and arbitrated more than 200 cases where the recovery by his client exceeded $1 million. In 2020 he helped negotiate the multibillion-dollar resolution of the 2017 California wildfire lawsuits brought against utility giant PG&E. Before that, his $8.341 million verdict in the first DePuy ASR/Johnson & Johnson metal-on-metal artificial hip litigation helped produce a $2.5 billion national settlement for all victims.
In 2021 Mike was the number one vote-getter for the second year in a row on the 2021 list of Northern California “Super Lawyers”. A member of the prestigious Inner Circle of Advocates, Kelly was also included on the “Top 10” and “Top 100” list of lawyers in Northern California for the 18th time, as well as being selected by Best Lawyers to its prestigious roster for the 20th consecutive year. Recognized for his leadership in some of the most significant consumer protection cases in our state, Kelly made the list of the Los Angeles Daily Journal’s 2021 Top Plaintiff Lawyers and was inducted into Lawdragon’s Hall of Fame for his many years of pro-consumer successes, most recently demonstrated by his role in the litigation against the giant utility PG&E for the damage caused by the 2017-2018 Northern California wildfires and the devastating Butte County Camp Fire.
When resolution by mediation or settlement fails, Kelly is ready to take his clients’ cases before juries. Recent trials have produced a $4 million jury verdict against the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District for the death of a pedestrian struck by one of its buses, a $5.6 million jury verdict against a Super Shuttle driver for the death of a retired restaurateur, a $12.75 million recovery against a domestic automaker(auto rollover), a $10.5 million settlement for the wrongful death of a single mother, and a major 8-figure confidential settlement against Kaiser Health Plan for a catastrophically injured infant. His $8.35 million verdict on behalf of a construction worker who lost an arm showed his skill in work-site injury cases. His $23.2 million jury verdict in a birth injury medical malpractice case in Minnesota ranks among that state’s largest verdicts for obstetrical injury.
Beyond stellar results for his clients, Kelly is proud of his many contributions to the legal community. He is a speaker for 360 Advocacy for whom he chairs its annual Trucking Litigation program. He teaches regularly for NITA, The Rutter Group, ABOTA, the Consumer Attorneys of California, AAJ, SFTLA, and the Bar Association of San Francisco. He served for 10 years as the Director of Teacher Training programs for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and remains a member of its Board of Governors. He has long been active in protecting the rights of the underrepresented, working for pedestrian and bicyclist safety, lobbying for compensation fairness for medical malpractice victims, and protecting the rights of the LGBT community.
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Tuesday Jun 06, 2023
Tuesday Jun 06, 2023
This week Steve and Yvonne interview Brian Beckcom of VB Attorneys (https://www.vbattorneys.com/).
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Case Details:
The crew of the Maersk Alabama was attacked and taken hostage by Somali pirates. The events were depicted in a Hollywood blockbuster called “Captain Phillips” starring Tom Hanks. Brian and his firm countered a massive Hollywood publicity campaign that portrayed Captain Phillips as a hero and the crew as lazy layabouts, when in fact the exact opposite was true. The case resulted in a confidential settlement for each crew member. It also changed the way the shipping industry provides security to the men and women who travel in dangerous, pirate-infested waters
Guest Bio:
Brian Beckcom
Brian Beckcom is one of the leading lawyers of his generation. Brian's peers have voted him a Texas Super Lawyer 14 years in a row, and every single year he has been eligible. Brian is also a Board Certified Expert in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a recognition shared by less than 2% of lawyers.
Brian has obtained hundreds of millions of dollars for his clients, and he and his law firm have obtained record-setting settlements and verdicts in a wide variety of significant legal cases.
Brian is also a Computer Scientist & Philosopher. He created and hosts the popular podcast "Lesson from Leaders with Brian Beckcom."
Brian is a military "brat," a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a single-digit golfer, a former college basketball player at Texas A&M, a four-year member of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets, and an accomplished freshwater and saltwater fly fisherman.
Brian is an honors graduate of the University of Texas School of Law. He is the author of 6 books and hundreds of articles on a wide variety of topics.
Brian has successfully prosecuted many high profile cases. The national and international media has covered Brian's work on these complex cases.
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Tuesday May 23, 2023
Tuesday May 23, 2023
This week Steve and Yvonne interview Bob Cheeley of Cheeley Law Group, LLC (https://cheeleylawgroup.com/).
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Guest Bio:
Robert D. Cheeley
“I’m just a small town country lawyer” is the way Bob Cheeley refers to himself. Having grown up in Buford, Georgia in the 1960’s and 1970’s, Bob grew up wanting to help people, just as his parents, Selma Medlock Cheeley and his father, Joseph E. Cheeley, Jr. modeled for him. Bob’s mother would never miss the opportunity to help out a family in need with a meal, clothing and Christmas gifts. Mrs. Cheeley served on the Buford City School Board during integration of the schools when Bob was in middle school. Bob’s father, Joe, was a lawyer in Buford for over 60 years after graduating from the University of Georgia in 1952. While in law school, Joe would earn money as the Sanford Stadium announcer on game days. Joe also served as State Court Judge in Gwinnett County for 20 years.
Bob grew up driving tractors and working on the family farm. Later, Bob worked in his father’s law office in the summers during college and law school. It was during this time that Bob realized his calling to become a trial lawyer with a desire to help people who had been wronged, either to their person or their business.
Like his father, Bob is a “Double Dawg,” having achieved two degrees from the University of Georgia, a degree in political science in 1978 and his Juris Doctorate from the School of Law in 1982. Bob has been advocating for the rights of Georgia residents who have sustained serious and catastrophic injuries his entire career. Bob has also represented business owners who have been the victim of breaches of fiduciary duties by a partner. Bob is the founding member and the managing partner of Cheeley Law Group, LLC, located in Alpharetta.
Over the course of his career, Bob has secured over six hundred million ($600,000,000) dollars in jury verdicts and settlements. Most of these have been against insurers and publicly traded corporations, including trucking companies which caused injuries and deaths on the highways. Bob has also achieved justice for people who have suffered catastrophic injuries, including traumatic brain injuries, due to automobile product defects in vehicles manufactured by companies such as General Motors, Toyota Motor Company, Suzuki Motor Company, Nissan Motor Company, and Ford Motor Company, among others.
One of the most notable cases which Bob tried with his former law partner is Moseley vs. General Motors which resulted in a verdict of $105 million dollars in Atlanta in 1993. The subject vehicle was a 1982 model Chevrolet pickup truck equipped with two “side saddle” fuel tanks, located just inside the sheet metal on each side of the truck. Bob tracked down a former GM fuel system engineer named Ron Elwell who was retired. Moseley aired live on Courtroom TV and is recognized throughout the nation as a landmark win which advanced automotive fuel system design safety.
Some of Bob’s other noteworthy cases include three settlements totaling $45 million against US Xpress trucking company arising out of a tragic collision in 2015 I-16 when one of its tractor trailers ran into the rear of two vehicles carrying seven Georgia Southern nursing students, resulting in 5 deaths and 2 injuries. Only one of those cases went to trial, Richards vs. US Xpress, which involved a mild traumatic brain injury and PTSD suffered by the plaintiff. The defendants’ insurer, AIG, was intent on saving as much of the remaining policy limits as possible and offered only $1 million before trial. The jury returned a verdict of $15 million.
Bob has other notable wins at trial including a $4o million dollar verdict against Toyota when the highest offer pretrial was $10,000.
Bob is licensed to practice in Georgia, the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Bob has been a long-standing member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association and the American Association for Justice. He also served as a board member of the Attorneys Information Exchange Group. Bob also serves on the board of directors of The Piedmont Bank in Peachtree Corners, Ga.
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